How To Shuck an Oyster

One thing that so many Jacksonville seafood restaurants are known for are oysters. This is definitely the case for us at the North Beach Fish Camp. One of the things with oysters though is that they can be quite intimidating to dig into if you have never consumed one before. There are certain steps that you can take to help you become a master of shucking oysters. Shucking oysters may seem hard, but it is actually quite simple.

Get a Knife to the Hinge

The hinge of the oyster is where your focus should be once it is fully cleaned. With a knife in hand, insert the knife into the the hinge of the oyster to open it up. Hold the oyster with the cup side of it down before you insert the knife into the hinge. Be sure that you are protecting your hands if you are going to be using a knife on the oyster. Not only is the knife sharp, but the oyster shell may be, too. Using thick gloves or at the very least a towel that has been folded over your hand will protect you from both things. Once you have the knife in the hinge, twist the blade of the knife and the shell will pop open.

Cut Under the Oyster

Once you have the knife in the shell and you have popped it wide open, cut under the oyster to release it from the bottom of the shell. You want to try and keep as much liquid in the shell as possible when you are doing this, so be very gentle. Get rid of the top shell and then place the oyster sitting in the bottom shell on top of crushed ice. This is going to keep the oysters chilled.

Dress the Oysters

The final piece of the puzzle here is to dress the oysters. This is done with both lemon, maybe some hot sauce, and/or mignonette sauce. There are so many different recipes out there that you can use when it comes to dressing up oysters for consumption. Plan accordingly and check out some recipes like those used at Jacksonville seafood restaurants to see what creations you can come up with.
Following the steps that we have outlined above will let you do the same if you decide to eat oysters at home. But don’t worry if you’ve never shucked an oyster before … we take care of that for you. If you’re looking for a stress-free, oyster filled dinner, North Beach Fish Camp is where you need to be.